Steve Coogan is host of tonight’s Spirit Awards honoring independent film. He thinks he’s a good fit for the ceremony, a loose, often potty-mouthed affair (see TV details below).

“It’ll be a good crowd for me,” said Coogan, 43, who has been seen in “Night at the Museum” and “Tropic Thunder” but did leading roles in the indie films “24 Hour Party People” and “Tristram Shandy.” “I’ll feel as comfortable as I possibly could feel in front of a crowd of industry people doing comedy, which is kind of a poison chalice in some ways.”

Coogan would not mind going more mainstream someday.

“Yeah, everybody wants to have their cake and eat it,” he said. “I’d like to have the opportunity to reach a wider audience without losing whatever it is that I do.”